„Afghans want all foreign forces to leave after 2014“
Part of channel(s): Afghanistan (current event)

US Secretary of State John Kerry has left Afghanistan after two days of talks on a bilateral security pact bore no fruit. The two sides remained at odds on the issue of immunity for American troops. Washington says there will be no deal without immunity while Kabul considers it a violation of its sovereignty. We’ve spoken to former Afghan premier Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai. He says the Afghan nation does not want foreign forces to stay in their country after 2014.

Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=307_1381719833#jQx6DE644zigqt65.99

Over the terrorismen organisation: NATO

„“On the security front the entire NATO exercise was one that caused Afghanistan a lot of suffering, a lot of loss of life, and no gains because the country is not secure,” Karzai said.„

Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Anders Fogh Rasmussen has rebuked Afghan President Hamid Karzai for his recent comments against the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan.

In a Thursday press conference, Rasmussen strongly rejected Karzai’s view that the presence of US-led troops in Afghanistan has caused “a lot of suffering” to the Afghan nation over the past decade.

In response, the NATO chief hailed what he described as a “remarkable progress” in Afghanistan, claiming that the war-torn country “has come a long way in the past 10 years.”

Rasmussen further said he is “confident that the Afghan security forces will be able to take full responsibility by the end of 2014 as planned.”

In an interview with Britain’s state-run broadcaster, BBC, earlier this week, the Afghan president lashed out at US-led NATO forces for failing to bring stability to Afghanistan after more than a decade of presence in the country.

“On the security front the entire NATO exercise was one that caused Afghanistan a lot of suffering, a lot of loss of life, and no gains because the country is not secure,” Karzai said.

Donald Trump is considering buying the Serbian Defence Ministry’s bombed headquarters in Belgrade, and turning them into a top-class hotel.

BIRN

Belgrade

The bomb-damaged Serbian Army HQ. Photo: Beta

Workers in Serbia are busy cleaning the remains of the so-called B building of the former Serbian Army headquarters in Belgrade that NATO blasted in 1999.

„Works include clearing the collapsed remains of the reinforced concrete structure from the basement to the top,“ the Defence Ministry said.

The job is due to last 70 working days.

The clean-up comes after American businessman Donald Trump met Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic last week in the US and discussed the potential for building a luxurious hotel on the spot.

Trump is sending a group of observers to view the location over the next month. Dacic said after the meeting that such an investment would be of great importance for Serbia.

„The arrival of Trump and his investment would be a call to other serious investors,“ Dacic said.

The celebrity tycoon has a series of hotels in the US which are branded with his name, as well as being famous for his outspoken television appearances.

He is not the first investor to show an interest in turning the former army headquarters into a hotel. Mohammed bin Zayed, from the United Arab Emirates, has also eyed the location for a possible luxury hotel.

The former army heardquarters, which was the work of Serbian architect Nikola Dobrovic, comprises two buildings of about 50,000 square metres, built between 1956 and 1965.

It suffered extensive damage from NATO bombing on April 29 and on May 7, 1999. Six years later, the complex was placed on a list of Serbian cultural heritage sites.

It has not been repaired since the bombing for lack of money but serves mainly as a tourist attraction.

The complex is owned by the Serbian state and the Defence Ministry and Army were only its tenants.

According to Serbian law, a building listed as a protected monument can be repaired without changing its status. The building must retain its external appearance but areas behind its façade can be redeveloped. http://www.balkaninsight.com

Alleged corruption in Serbia agency draws attention

26/11/2013

The Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency scandal has triggered a debate on the efficiency of state agencies and whether the existence of some of them is justified.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade — 26/11/13

The Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency is under investigation for alleged financial irregularities. [Nikola Barbutov/SETimes]

The future of the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency remains in question nearly two weeks after hundreds of emails detailing corruption and bid-rigging prompted the resignation of the agency’s director.

Some said the agency, which is in charge of bringing foreign investors to Serbia, subsidising investors and promoting Serbian exporters abroad, is unneeded and too costly.

In mid-November, an unidentified hacker sent the Balkanist web portal hundreds of emails from the agency’s address, which detail abuse of budget funds, spending on parties and agency employees‘ bonuses, rigging tenders, corruption and work to the benefit of the opposition party United Regions of Serbia, whose personnel has been running the agency.

Former agency director Bozidar Laganin, who resigned on November 15th, denied the emails‘ authenticity.

The ministry of economy filed criminal charges against Laganin alleging dereliction of duty for failing to notify the Ministry of Economic Affairs that the agency has eight non-performing bank guarantees worth more than 555,000 euros.

The agency’s activities will be taken over by the ministry, Economy Minister Sasa Radulovic said at a press conference.

Laganin said the agency had done good work.

„Estimates say that during my mandate alone, since 2010, 44,000 direct jobs were created. Companies such as Bosch, Swarovski, Cooper Tires, NCR and Yura launched operations in Serbia. I think those are outstanding results,“ he said, adding that attacks on the agency damage the state.